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Ranger
Description: Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the wilderness. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy - a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. Alignment restrictions: none Hit die: d10 Proficiencies: armor (light, medium), shields, weapons (martial, simple) Skill points: 4 + int modifier ( (4 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level) Skills: animal empathy, concentration, craft armor, craft trap, craft weapon, discipline, heal, hide, listen, lore, move silently, parry, ride, search, set trap, spot Unavailable feats: ambidexterity, curse song, divine might, divine shield, extra music, extra turning, lingering song, quicken spell, two-weapon fighting, weapon specialization These general feats cannot be selected when taking a level of ranger. Bonus feats: favored enemy, greater spell focus Primary saving throw(s): fortitude Base attack bonus: +1/level Spellcasting: Divine (spell failure from armor is ignored), wisdom-based (a base wisdom score of 10 + the spell's level is required to cast a spell, bonus spells are based on modified wisdom, and the wisdom modifier affects spell DCs), and requires preparation. Spells Level progression The bonuses against favored enemies are bonus damage added to weapon(s), and bonuses to the spot, listen, and taunt skills. Being able to cast 0 spells of a certain level per day means the ranger cannot cast spells of that level unless bonus spell slots of the appropriate level are granted by a high wisdom. Epic ranger The epic ranger moves through the natural world with deadly grace and a keen mind. The epic ranger is both a protector and a hunter, and his powers reflect this. Hit die: d10 Skill points: 4 + int modifier Bonus feats: The epic ranger gains a bonus feat every three levels and every five levels after the 20th. In other words, at levels 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 35(two bonus feats), 38, and 40. Epic ranger bonus feats: bane of enemies, blinding speed, epic prowess, epic spell focus, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, improved combat casting, perfect health Epic favored enemy: The epic ranger gains a further +1 bonus in weapon damage, spot, listen, and taunt versus favored enemies for every 5 levels after the 20th. Unavailable epic feats: automatic quicken spell, automatic silent spell, automatic still spell, construct shape, dragon shape, epic spell penetration, epic spell: dragon knight, epic spell: epic mage armor, epic spell: epic warding, epic spell: greater ruin, epic spell: hellball, epic spell: mummy dust, epic weapon specialization, great smiting, improved ki strike 4, improved ki strike 5, improved sneak attack, improved spell resistance, improved stunning fist, lasting inspiration, mighty rage, outsider shape, planar turning, terrifying rage, thundering rage, undead shape These general epic feats cannot be selected when taking a level of ranger. Epic ranger level progression Prestige class tips *Combined with wizard or sorcerer levels, an elven or half-elven ranger makes the perfect arcane archer. *Hide and move silently as class skills make it easy for evil rangers to become assassins or blackguards. Notes *Despite popular perception and BioWare's prestige class tip, the ranger is not intrinsically better suited to archery than melee combat. Other than automatic access to cat's grace but not to bull's strength (see attack bonus), a ranger has no abilities that benefit ranged combat without similar benefits to melee combat (and even that exception fails to meet this criteria if the ranger has weapon finesse). * Zen archery can be a useful feat to a ranger who prefers ranged to melee combat and wishes to make use of the ranger's wisdom-based magic. * When reaching ranger levels with bonus favored enemy feats at epic character levels (not just epic ranger levels), a feat may be chosen from the epic ranger bonus feat list instead of the usual favored enemy. For example, a spell caster who meets the prerequisites for improved combat casting might take a single ranger level in order, among other reasons, to get that feat as a bonus feat (in lieu of a favored enemy). *Although a ranger is automatically proficient with medium armor, many rangers prefer light armor as medium armor disables their dual-wield abilities. * The ranger is well-suited for some stealth builds, as ranger and arcane archer are the only full base attack classes that have hide and move silently as class skills * The ranger's dual-wield feat is particularly useful for characters whose unmodified dexterity is less than 15 (the prerequisite for ambidexterity), if that character wears light armor and has an interest in using two weapons. External resources *Ranger Guide by DarthMuffin at GameFAQs NWN page *Overview of the ranger class in the Epic Character Builders Guild: The Ranger Class (Login required) *Hakpak for 3.5 style ranger (one of many) available at 3.5 Edition. Changes to the ranger class include: **Both fortitude and reflex as primary saving throws **d8 hit die instead of d10 **6 skill points per level instead of 4 **No longer given medium armor proficiency **Dual-wield at level 2 instead of at level 1, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting at level 6 instead of level 9 **Woodland Stride at level 7, evasion at level 9 **Hide in plain sight at level 17 (outside only) **Improved spell list category:classes